Burial vault



P 7, 1957 c. D. CRUMP 2,806,278

BURIAL VAULT Filed Jan. 28, 1955 W Ill INVENTOR CLIFFORD D. Cm/Mp L; I BY JWQ M ATTORNEYS BURIAL VAULT Clitford D; Crump; Greenville'; Pa.

Application January-28, 1955,"Serial- No. 484,659 1 Claim. (Cl. 2735) The present invention relates to burial vaults and, more particularly, to a burial vault adapted to receive a casket therein, the entire assembly then being placed in the grave and covered.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a casket receiving burial vault which will have great strength in the proportion to the weight of the vault.

A further object of the invention is to provide a burial vault wherein, before use :and in an unassernbled condition, the component parts of the vault are readily gathered into a small package to facilitate transportation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a burial vault that can be completely sealed from the outside elements after the same has been assembled, thereby completely protecting the casket placed therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a burial vault, all parts of which are made from a moldable plastic of any color.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be made apparent by the following description and drawings, which, it will be understood, :are only illustrative of the invention and impose no limitations thereon not imposed by the appended claim.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals refer to like parts,

Fig. l is a perspective view of my new and improved burial vault;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of the vault taken on lines 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the corner construction with side panels in place;

Fig. 4 is a view of one of the supporting columns;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of one of the corners of the base without the side panels in position;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the burial vault in knockdown condition, ready for packaging, and

Fig. 7 is :a sectional View of a modification of the present invention.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the novel burial vault of the present invention is illustrated therein as including a base 2, top 4, side panels 6, end panels 8, and supporting columns 10, 12. The Vault is slightly larger than the casket to be received therein, various sizes of vaults "being made available to "accommodate diiferent size caskets.

The base 2 is formed from a single piece of molded plastic material and provided with a flat top 14 on which a casket 16 is adapted to rest. Spaced inwardly from the upper edges of the base is a series of grooves 18, see Fig. 5, the grooves extending along the sides and ends of the base. These grooves are corrugated, as shown in the drawing, for a purpose which will be more fully explained hereinafter. The grooves are interrupted throughout the side edges of the base and at the corners and sockets 20 are provided in the base, these sockets adapted to receive the supporting columns, 10, 12. It will be seen that the corner columns 12 are provided with qited. StatesP-atent O i ,30 27 Patentedsept'.17;;1957

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two longitudinal grooves spaced 9 0 degrees apart while the .columnslOalongthe.side edges-ofihe bases-are pro videdtwith two grooves spaced .180 degrees :apart,-. see Fig, 3.. These grooves are adapted: to.receive-the..side..and end wallpanels 6,. .8. These panels-.are-corrugatednimi. larly to the corrugations .of the grooves 18,. thea-corrugationsadding to the strength otthe panels.- .Theqaanels 6,,8a-re made .ofreinforced molded plastic. j The top 4- is..made fromna. singlepiecerof molded plastic material and is provided with depending side and end flanges in which are provided a series of corrugated grooves 21 similar to grooves 18 in the base. The flanges are also provided with sockets similar to sockets 20 in the base, these sockets receiving the upper ends of the supporting columns. The bottom walls of the flange surrounding the grooves in the top 4 are tapered .slightly toward the grooves to permit the wall panels to be more easily inserted, this being clearly shown in Fig. 2. The tops of columns 10, 12 are tapered, as shown in Fig. 4, to permit easy insertion in the sockets formed in the top.

When it is desired to assemble the vault, the columns 10, 12 are placed in their respective sockets, after which the side and end panels are slid into position, the ends of the side panels 6 sliding into the grooves formed in opposite sides of the columns, the corner columns 12 receiving in the grooves formed therein the ends of the panels which are positioned at right angles to each other. After the columns and panels are placed in position, selfsetting liquid plastic material is forced in the corrugated grooves along the side and end walls, the plastic being applied along both sides of the panels. This will provide an extremely tight, waterproof construction, the plastic paste material uniting with the plastic material of the panels and columns to form a unitary structure.

The structure is then placed in the grave where it receives the casket. After the casket has been positioned, a self-setting liquid plastic material is forced into the groove formed in the top and the top is lowered onto the base structure, the side and end walls being directed by the tapered surface into the grooves. The liquid plastic reacts with the side and end walls to unite therewith and forms a second unitary seam. After the plastic has fully set, no air or water can penetrate the vault and the casket will remain in its normal condition indefinitely. It will be seen that the top is supported by the columns as well as the side and end walls and great strength is thereby provided.

As a further modification, as disclosed in Fig. 7, instead of using a liquid self-setting plastic in the grooves, it is possible to provide plastic inserts 30 of corrugated form which can be inserted between the sides of the panels and the sides of the grooves after which a liquid plastic may be spread over the inserts to seal them to the side walls, base and top.

As will be seen in Fig. 6, the component parts of the vault may be readily stacked for shipping purposes. When it is desired to ship the vault in knock-down condition, the side and end walls are placed on top of each other to permit the corrugations to interfit after .which they are laid upon the base. The columns are placed on the stacked wall members and the top of the vault laid upon the so assembled parts. The entire assembly can then be wrapped and shipped.

While one form which the invention may take has been described and illustrated, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments, as well as modifications thereof, may be made without departing in any way from the spirit or scope of the invention, for the limits of which reference must be had to the appended claim.

What is claimed is: i

A burial vault composed of molded :plastic material comprising a unitary base structure, a unitary top structure, side and end walls, said base and top structures being provided with complementary grooves formed along each outer edge thereof, the lower surface of the top structure adjacent said grooves being tapered inwardly toward the grooves along the length of said grooves, a series of complementary sockets formed in the base and top and being spaced along the side edges thereof and at the corners-and centered in said grooves, columns positioned in said sockets in the base and top to support the top, said columns 'being provided with vertically extending grooves which register with the grooves formed in the 4 base and top, the upper end of each column being tapered to facilitate insertion into said sockets, side wall panels the edges of which are positioned in the grooves formed in the base, top and adjacent columns, end wall panels, the edges of which are received in the grooves formed in the base, top and corner columns and means disposed within all said grooves for sealing all said panels and columns in said grooves and being applied along both sides of the panels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,397,388 Troedsson Mar. 26, 1946 

